Technical Colleges Head Likes Walker’s Budget Incentives

The head of Wisconsin’s technical colleges told state lawmakers yesterday that she supports the way Governor Walker’s budget would tie future state funding to performance.

Under Walker’s plan, the amount of state money tech schools receive would be tied to factors like how many students they place in the workforce and the number of degrees they award in high-demand fields. Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy says it should lead to increased funding for tech schools, since these are already areas where they excel.

“I think the hope is that it’s going to make an easier decision and a more likely decision that new resources allocations to the technical college system will be seen as an investment from the state in which you are getting some great return.”

Democrats pointed out that Walker’s budget would boost funding for technical colleges by just $5 million in this budget, after cutting them by $71 million in the last.